Saturday, August 26, 2017

A Fifth Of Red


It sure is taking the gang a while to get here, and there's absolutely nothing going on around this gatehouse.  I need to let out some of this anxious energy somehow--


Hey, there are some patches of tall grass over there.  You know, I haven't really had the opportunity to test out the new spray formulas for the PokeLure 2.0...maybe now's as good a time as ever, if nothing else is going on.


Let's see...I think I should try the Sweet Scent formula first.  That one shouldn't have the consistency problems I anticipated with honey.  Give it a quick spritz, and--


GET THE FUCK BACK!

And now we wait.

...

...


...hey, I think I saw something! A little black tail popping out of the grass! Let's try another spritz, a little closer this time.

It's definitely coming closer...but it may still need some coaxing.  Pidgeotto, go!


Alright, I want you to blow that thing out of the grass towards me with Gust.


Excellent, I can here it rolling and squealing--


...wait, that looks like a Pikachu, but it's the wrong color, wrong size, and wrong shape. So...maybe not so much like a Pikachu? It's got those little cheeks and a funny tail, though...it could possibly be an Electric-type.  I should battle it and size it up...

But I notice it isn't super aggressive.  That's a start! Pidgeotto, use Quick Attack!


WHAP! Good shot! It's not looking too good--


AN ELECTRIC PULSE! It's definitely an Electric-type! That's fantas--!


Whoa, that looked like it fucked Pidge up something fierce! I better--wait...


I looks fine again.  Did he...did that thing heal itself with that electrical attack?!


...little fuckboi.

Pidgeotto, return.  Go, Gliscor!


Go on, try that again.  I welcome it.


Yeah, now you're a little nervous, ain't ya? Gliscor, we're not looking to kill this thing, but we do want it weak.  Acrobatics!


Excellent maneuvering and restraint, Gliscor--!


It's trying to run away?! Little fuckboi! Gliscor, get over to it with Quick Attack and bop it!


Good swipe of the tail, but he's running deeper into the tall grass--


He just discharged some built up electricity to propel himself further into the grass! Oh, this fuckboi's clever, looking for cover...but Gliscor's gonna find you.  Use Feint Attack and knock it back out of the grass!


Yeah! The one-two feint caught him completely off-guard and he's skidding this way--!


...aww, he's really cute.  I kind of feel bad for hurting it like this.


TOM:   I'm sorry, little fuckboi, but don't worry! You'll be feeling much better soo--

Where the shit is my Great Ball?! I know I have one around here somewhere! Stupid coat! I haven't worn this thing in a while--Gliscor, corral it until I can--


Found it! Great Ball, go!


There's the hit! Come on, I've only got one shot at this...

Wiggle...

Wiggle...

Wiggle...

...

...

PING! Capture success! We caught a...okay, I can't just call this thing a Fuckboi.  I'll have to see what registers in the Pokedex--


TOM:  Jess! Glad you made it! I've just tested out a new spray and it seems successful! Here, give the other one a try!


JESS:   Wait, it's not dangerous, is it?


TOM:   What? NO! Of course not! The first of the two formulas seemed almost soothing; I'm sure we'll get similar results from the other!


JESS:   ...okay.


TOM:   Trust me! Everything that would have been deadly is cute now.


JESS:   ...uh, Tom, this spray is too globby to spray.


TOM:   I expected as much.  Try swirling it around a bit with the interior tube and then give it a flick towards the grass.


JESS:   Okay.


TOM:   ...


JESS:   ...is something supposed to happen?


TOM:   That's so odd.  There's almost no reaction.  Maybe it's not aromatic enough? Here, Jess.  Try the other formula on the other side of the grass patch.  See if that gives you better results.


JESS:   Hey Tom, I think I see something.


TOM:   Is it a Pokemon?


JESS:   Looks like some kind of teal, shiny rock.  Roses, see the shiny thing? Get the shiny thing!

ROSES:   Roses!


TOM:   So what is it?


JESS:   ...it's a rock.


TOM:   We can take it to a PokeMart and get it appraised; it may be worth something.  Either that, or I'm sure Arturo would know.


JESS:   Good idea--Tom, look! Something's thrumming in the grass over there!


TOM:   Point your 'dex at it--!



TOM:   NEVER YOU FUCKIN' MIND! I KNOW THAT ONE!


JESS:   Tom, do you want it?


TOM:   The Magnemite is all yours.  I don't have any balls left.


JESS:   ...


TOM:   ...fuck it, what's the point of correcting myself now? The damage is done.


JESS:   Well here, take two of mine.


TOM:   Jess...you're just going to give me two Great Balls?


JESS:   Yeah, sure, why not? I don't want it, anyway.


TOM:   Jess! Thank you--hey, it seems to be sniffing where you sprayed!

Gliscor, hit it with Knock Off!


Good slap-down, girl!


Oh, it does not seem as friendly as the mouse--OOH! That scraping sound is awful! Gliscor, Rock Smash that thing!


Excelent shot! You almost disassembled it with that shot! Well done--


YO! What kind of beam attack was that?! That did way too much damage to Gliscor and it's still up and fighting!  Gliscor, hit it one more time with Rock Smash! Make it count, you may only have one more shot at this!


GLISCOR!


JESUS CHRIST, YOU BROKE IT! YOU BROKE THE DAMN MAGNEMITE--!

Wait...it's still blinking and trying to reform?? Sturdy little sucker, ain't he? ...she? I don't know, it's a ball bearing with three screws and two magnets.  Well, if it's still alive, the Great Ball will at least be able to suck it in for an attempted capture.  Great Ball, go!


Wiggle...

Wiggle--CAUGHT! Holy shit, this has been a good day!


JESS:   I got my egg back.  Doc says we should be going to Seraph as soon as possible.


TOM:   Yeah, I totally agree--wait, where's Arturo and Clem?


JESS:   Oh, they went off to do their own thing.


TOM:   "Their own thing"?! When people do that, people almost die!


JESS:   No shit.


TOM:   And it's usually either you or me!


JESS:   No shit!


TOM:   We better hit the Pokemon Center first then, if we're going out past the gatehouse.  Walk with me...we need to talk.


JESS:   Sure, okay.  What's up?


TOM:   I found a name on the champions' plaque for the Mastam Gym.  I...I think it's my son.


JESS:   Are you sure?


TOM:   He's got my wife's maiden name and the first two initials match up.


JESS:   Well, shit! The likelihood of that not being your son has got to be pretty damn low, right?


TOM:   That's what I'm thinking.  He went through here on his way to Dallus about a week ago.


JESS:   Well then, let's heal up these Pokemon, check this stone out, and then get a move on--oh! Before we do, I need to see Doc about something real quick.  He's working on some kind of tracer for finding sources of dark energy.


TOM:   That's a thing that can exist--?


JESS:   Also, I found out that Marcus doesn't own any Zoroark, but that doesn't mean he's not controlling them somehow.


TOM:   We don't know who's controlling them yet, but I don't doubt they'll be there when we arrive.  All the more reason to have the nurses check out our teams.


Okay, everyone seems healed up...


JESS:   Hey Tom! This guy at the store says this is a Shiny Stone! It's worth $1500!


TOM:   If you're selling it, keep the money.  I owe you for the balls.

You know, now that I think about it, Jess has really helped me out a LOT ever since we met.  She gave me money for a cell phone, she managed to get me a Jolteon, and now, I have a Magnemite and a...a Dedenne! I have those two now thanks to her.

I need to make this up to her, and we can use as much strength as we can get in the following days.  More importantly, I trust her enough not to do anything irresponsible or negligent with her Pokemon...

...alright, it's settled.


One more withdrawn.


TOM:   Okay Jess, I'm ready.  Let's head over to the gym now and talk to Doc.


JESS:   Tom?


TOM:   Yeah?


JESS:   What if...what if something happens to me?


TOM:   What, like something worse than all the shit that's happened so far?


JESS:   I mean...I train Dark-type Pokemon.  If something happens in me...if it changes me, makes me dangerous...I already suspect something's happened to Marcus like that, but--


TOM:   You want to have some kind of contingency plan in case you...I dunno, go rogue?


JESS:   If Mewtwo is controlling minds, and Dark-type trainers are influenced by the darkness within their Pokemon...I just don't want that to happen.


TOM:   ...it's actually very funny you should mention that.


TOM:   After Erik took me into the Dream World, I had a bit of a mental fit...but I came up with idea to create a device that could potentially work to observe patterns and influences within a person's brain.  I think if Doc were to use this information in conjunction with his dark energy tracer, we might have something to use to detect if people are being mind-controlled?


JESS:   Without punching them?!


TOM:   ...yes.


JESS:   Well, the good news is if we do have to go up against Mewtwo at some point--


TOM:   Which we probably will, knowing our luck.


JESS:   I've got a type advantage.  I just don't know where our Pokemon will be when that time comes.


TOM:   We'll figure something out.  We usually do.


JESS:   But this is Mewtwo we're talking about.  The only person who ever stood a chance against it was Red...and we're nowhere near the level of trainer Red was!


TOM:   Yeah, Red was very skilled, but we have an advantage that Red didn't have.  Red was just Red.  He wasn't Red and four other of his friends.  We don't have to be as good as Red to beat this...we just need to be a fifth of Red's skill and stick together, and we can accomplish just about anything he did, if not more.


JESS:   Do you really believe that?


TOM:   If I didn't...I wouldn't be offering you this.


JESS:   ...this is a Poke Ball.


TOM:   Open it.


JESS:   ...okay--


JESS:   A Vullaby?!


TOM:   I won't have the time to train it, and I doubt I'd be able to train it as well as you could, so I--


JESS:   THANK YOU!


TOM:   Hug...too...tight...


JESS:   I'm gonna name it Harpy!


TOM:   Besides, I wouldn't have a lot of the Pokemon that I do if it wasn't for you.  Consider this my Jolteon for you.


TOM:   Vulla--err, Harpy.  This is Jess.  She's going to be your trainer from now on.  She's cool, and she'll know how to raise you better than I could.  Besides, I'll be travelling with you two, so this isn't so much a goodbye as it is a...change of management.


JESS:   I better go synch this Poke Ball so it will respond to my commands--but first! Roses, this is Harpy.  Harpy, Roses.


ROSES:   Ro--Roses?


TOM:   Well, they both certainly seem friendly towards each other--


JESS:   Roses, head! Harpy, arm!


TOM:   You have falconer's gloves??


JESS:   Um, yeah?


TOM:   ...that's just a very specific thing to have.


JESS:   I'm gonna need berries so I can train it to use Pluck.  I'll send a text to Kevin to pick some up from the Chloris market.


TOM:   He's already reached Chloris?!


JESS:  This is Kevin we're talking about.


TOM:   ...this is Kevin we're talking about.  Never mind.

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